Sarries laid out a huge marker on Friday night.
Wasps then bettered it on Sunday.
As the weekend of Champions Cup Round Two rugby progressed, it looked increasingly likely that Saracens’ bonus point triumph in Belfast over Ulster was going to be the result of the weekend – their solid first half defence laying the platform for some clinical finishing in the second half that wrapped up five points for Mark McCall’s men, who already look destined for the quarter-finals.
But in the final game of round two, Wasps topped it all with a fantastic all-round performance that swept away defending champions Toulon with some style in Coventry. They recorded a bonus point which places Wasps in a fantastic position of nine points from two games.
Those two results summed up a weekend where the English teams in the Champions’ Cup were a step above their opponents, and where all six managed to pick up at least four points. But perhaps the dominance of the Aviva Premiership sides isn’t as big as it’s made out to be.
For a start, you do have to take into account that the Premiership sides have had their full compliment to choose from for a few more weeks than the rest of the nations. Ulster had three players making their first starts this season on Friday night, while Saracens were able to rotate a few players in preparation. The same applies to Toulon who had a few guys making their first appearances of the season, while Wasps had a settled and familiar team.
And of the six English clubs in action, there were probably three games that you expected the English side to win anyway – Leicester were always guaranteed the five-pointer in Treviso, Bordeaux were going to provide little resistance against Exeter and as good as Leinster are, you still anticipated a home win for Bath at the Rec.
That’s not to take away from the three other wins though – Saracens were professional and efficient in their win at the Kingspan Stadium, Northampton showed superb resilience in seeing off Glasgow at Scotstoun while Wasps were simply irresistible as they tore apart Toulon in what will probably be the shock result of the tournament, if not their win over Leinster a week previously.
You could see Saracens winning the tournament outright based on how they’ve started this season. Perhaps Wasps too, however they are yet to be truly tested away from home, so perhaps it is too early to class them as contenders. But along with Toulon – who will come back stronger – and Clermont Auvergne, the Londoners are real candidates to win the trophy.
Meanwhile the PRO12 sides lag a long way behind. Munster, courtesy of not playing this weekend, probably still look the strongest placed of all their sides, along with the Ospreys who took two points away from the Stade Marcel Michelin on Sunday. But currently you don’t see any of them amounting enough of a challenge to loosen Toulon’s grip on the trophy.
Saracens and Wasps are front runners to do that.
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